NASCAR Week 8 Power Rankings

By Ryan Pritt

NASCAR Power Rankings -- Week 8

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas — Three more solid finishes for the top three means business as usual at the top. Jimmie Johnson was the big mover in these week's NASCAR power rankings, and here's how the top 10 stack up.

10. Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Matt Kenseth

10. Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Matt Kenseth — It speaks to the parity in the back half of the rankings that one subpar finish dropped Matt Kenseth from fifth to 10th in one week. Bristol is as good a place as any for Kenseth to get back on track, as he has accumulated three wins, 12 top fives and 19 top 10s in 30 races there.

9. Kasey Kahne

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Kasey Kahne

9. Kasey Kahne

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Kasey Kahne — Kasey Kahne ran in the top five for much of the night Saturday before a late caution worked against him, forcing the No. 5 team to settle for an eighth-place finish. Still, it was a good showing for Kahne, and he has become one of the best at Bristol of late with four top 10s in his last five races, including a win in the spring of 2013.

8. Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Jeff Gordon

8. Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Jeff Gordon — Jeff Gordon never had a winning car on Saturday night and did well to bring it home in seventh. It was Gordon's fourth-straight top 10 after a rough opening three races, but he has yet to finish in the top five. Gordon has five wins at Bristol, but none since 2002. He also has 24 top 10s, including 16 top fives in 44 races there.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Dale Earnhardt Jr.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Dale Earnhardt didn't have anything for Jimmie Johnson or Kevin Harvick on Saturday, but he had the rest of the field covered and came home with a well-deserved third-place finish. It was Junior's fourth top five in seven races. He picked up his lone win at Bristol way back in the fall of 2004 and has 14 top 10s and seven top fives in 30 races at the half-mile track.

6. Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Denny Hamlin

6. Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Denny Hamlin — It was a so-so 11th-place finish for Denny Hamlin, who couldn't quite capitalize on the momentum of a win at Martinsville in the week prior. Still, Hamlin is locked into the Chase and is one of the circuit's premier short-track drivers though he has just one win, four top fives and eight top 10s in 18 races at Bristol.

5. Brad Keselowski

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Brad Keselowski

5. Brad Keselowski

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Brad Keselowski — Brad Keselowski rolled home fifth on Saturday, marking his third-straight top five and sixth-straight top 10 dating back to the Daytona 500. He and Penske teammate Joey Logano look every bit as formidable as they were last year. Finally, Keselowski is coming back to a track he has some good history at with a pair of wins and four top fives in just 10 races at Bristol.

4. Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Jimmie Johnson

4. Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Jimmie Johnson — So much for doubting Jimmie Johnson. The six-time champ picked up his second win of the year on Saturday and has established himself alongside Kevin Harvick as the Sprint Cup's best at 1.5-mile tracks. Now he needs to prove he can do it elsewhere. By comparison, Bristol isn't one of Johnson's best tracks, as he has just one win, eight top fives and 14 top 10s in 26 races there.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Martin Truex Jr.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Martin Truex Jr. — The top three of this list seems like it will never change. It will be hard to justify moving Martin Truex Jr. back as long as he keeps ringing up top 10s, which he has done in every race so far this year. His ninth at Texas was yet another solid effort. Truex has just a pair of top fives in 18 races at Bristol.

2. Joey Logano

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Joey Logano

2. Joey Logano

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Joey Logano — Joey Logano wheeled home fourth on Saturday, marking his fourth top five of the season. If not for Kevin Harvick's dominance, Logano would be far and away the class of the circuit thus far. He won the last race held at Bristol in the fall of last season and has a pair of top fives and three top 10s in 12 races there.

1. Kevin Harvick

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Kevin Harvick

1. Kevin Harvick

NASCAR Power Rankings Texas Kevin Harvick — Kevin Harvick had his top-two streak snapped at Martinsville, so naturally, he started another on Saturday with a second-place run at Texas. It's almost pointless looking at his history at individual tracks; at this point, he's going to be a factor whether they're racing at Bristol or in a Walmart parking lot. For what it's worth, he won at Bristol in the spring of 2005 and has nine top fives and 12 top 10s in 28 attempts there.

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